"Everyone, get down!"
Kakashi's roar still rang in their ears.
Terrified by the giant Kubikiribōchō's overwhelming force, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura instinctively rolled aside and threw themselves to the ground in a panic.
Tazuna's legs went weak with fear, and he fell onto his backside, his face deathly pale.
Only Sen remained as unshakably calm as ever.
He did not even bother to duck.
Just before the spinning blade could take his head off, he casually leaned a fraction to the side.
Whoosh-
The massive blade shrieked through the air, passing almost against the tip of his nose.
The violent gust swept his black hair off his forehead, revealing dark eyes as still as an ancient well.
Thud!
A tremendous crash rang out.
The Kubikiribōchō slammed deep into a towering tree a dozen or so meters ahead, its blade still humming.
Then.
A tall, bare-chested man with bandages wrapped around his face appeared soundlessly atop the enormous sword's hilt, like a ghost.
He pulled the sword, wider than a door, free of the trunk and rested it on his shoulder.
From above, he looked down at the flock of startled Konoha ninja.
His gaze was cold and cruel, as though he were watching lambs awaiting slaughter.
"Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist!"
Kakashi slowly stood, shielding the three kids behind him, his expression utterly grim.
His scarlet Sharingan remained fixed on the man in the tree, his voice hoarse.
"I never thought Gato could hire an S-rank rogue ninja like you."
"Looks like we really hit the jackpot this time."
"Heh. Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja. Your name is worth quite a bit on our rogue ninja bounty lists."
Zabuza bared his teeth in a savage grin.
His browless eyes swept back and forth between Kakashi and Sen.